Steel Nail Exporter Seeks Faster Case Schedule, Says Duties Will Put It Out of Business
The Court of International Trade should expedite briefing on exporter Oman Fasteners' bid for a preliminary injunction in an antidumping duty case, Oman Fasteners argued in a Dec. 26 brief, saying the "severe, ongoing, and irreparable harm" caused by a "draconian 154.33% duty rate" threatens to put the company out of business. In its unopposed motion, the AD respondent said it already has had to stop all U.S. shipments of its goods subject to the duties and unless it can "quickly resume U.S. sales, and maintain them during the pendency of this case," it will "face insolvency through default on its existing financial obligations" or suffer irreparable harm (Oman Fasteners v. United States, CIT #22-00348).
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
"Every day that Commerce’s unlawful final action remains in place imposes significant additional harm. And without expedited treatment of this case, Oman Fasteners will likely be driven out of business before this Court can hear this case on the merits," the brief said.
The case concerns the 2020-2021 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on steel nails from Oman. The respondent filed for a motion for a preliminary injunction against the duties, which the exporter called a "corporate death sentence ... because part of one administrative filing came in 16 minutes late." Oman Fasteners said it's likely to succeed on the merits of its case because the trade court has repeatedly said that when a party's submission is a few minutes late and fails to cause prejudice, the agency cannot apply its deadline in such a harsh way as to produce an unjust result.